What's life like for a Sonoma County winemaker during harvest?

Sleepless in Sonoma County?

When you sip a glass of wine, you typically think about the flavors, the aromas, the tannins and the texture. Rarely do you consider the sleep deprivation that goes into a bottling.

Yet with a bumper crop harvest in its final stages this year, many Sonoma County winemakers are working 14- to 16-hour days - some without a day off in more than 10 weeks. As they wrap up picking, these weary souls give us an interesting snapshot of harvest.

When it comes to the weather, this year has been tame. The only hiccup was the late September rains.

“This harvest is somewhat reminiscent of the 1997 vintage,” said Mike Sullivan, winemaker of Santa Rosa’s Benovia. “We have slightly above-average yields and exceptional quality. Like in 1997 we experienced a little bit of rain, but not enough to create any issues in the vineyard.”

While Mother Nature hasn’t been problematic for the most part, harvest continues to require nonstop stamina.

Sullivan said he typically gets six hours of sleep a night, but he doesn’t take a day off during harvest. Meanwhile Carol Shelton, of her namesake winery in Santa Rosa, also powers through harvest without a break. She recently worked a stretch of 48 days straight on five to six hours of sleep.

“Crush work is all mixed up with trying to order supplies for bottling in January, clean up books for taxes, continue sales, train a new accountant, as well as keep up with the rebuilding of our home after the fires,” Shelton said.

Greg Morthole, who oversees the Davis Bynum brand at Healdsburg’s Rodney Strong Vineyards, is also having an action-packed harvest.

“During the busiest week I had to do two VIP tours, two wine events, plus our fridge broke at home, and I blew out a tire coming to work one morning,” Morthole said.

“The latest I got home was just before 2 a.m. I haven’t worked this many 14- to 16-hour days in some years.”

The next time you uncork a bottle, take a minute to appreciate the fact that the wine inside was crafted with tenacity.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.